SUMMER 2021/22

In this issue I share a chapter from my MINT colleague Helen Mentha’s wonderful little book ‘Someone Good to Talk To: Reflections on Motivational Interviewing in Practice ‘.

Helen dedicates her book:
‘For everyone who gave up on the dream of owning a Ferrari and chose to support other people instead’
Helen shares her disarming wisdom with a very unassuming touch and a good dose of funny bone.
I highly recommend Helen’s book for affirming your MI practice in quick reads that feel like a long cool drinks when the challenges of change have you parched. Read on to sample some of Helen’s thoughts and meet Henry, the best doggy eva (in Melbourne that is :-)).
THANKS HELEN!

Read Issue 60 Here

SPRING 2021

In this issue I share an article from the Journal of Critical Dietetics (free access) featuring spectacular insights regarding nutrition counselling relevant to all health professionals. The article will particularly resonate for those of you integrating the spirit and skills of Motivational Interviewing into your health care practice. I hope you enjoy this unique resource for the ongoing development of your practice.

Read Issue 59 Here

I am so pleased to be sharing a free access webinar from MINT delivered by Prof Bill Miller at the MINT FORUM in January this year. Many of you familiar with MI will recognise Bill as a highly esteemed contributor to contemporary thought about the art and science of behavior change. He is most well known as one of the originators of Motivational Interviewing with Prof Stephen Rollnick. In this 45 min webinar Bill discusses the data and insights informing his new book written with Terri Moyers regarding current understanding about what truly makes us helpful to people seeking to change behaviors. Spoiler alert: It’s NOT our expert knowledge! If you are seeking a taster I have provided a short synopsis in the editorial.

Read Issue 58 Here

A short personal piece from me in this issue. I explore a little of my own pandemic relief found within the walls of my garden and how I found MI there too. I had fun writing it and I hope you enjoy. Read on to meet my chooks!

Read Issue 57 Here

The world has changed since Pavestones was last in touch…

So much has already been said. We have been saturated by the words ‘unprecedented’, ‘grim milestones’, ‘exponential’, ‘lock down’, ‘quarantine’, ‘outbreak’, ‘second wave’. Now daily words we may have once used rarely, thanks to the pandemic of COVID-19. And if we take a minute to appreciate the felt sense of each of these words, and the seemingly constant news clips that defy belief, t is no wonder we may be all feeling a deep, deep strain.

Where ever you are in the world, I hope you are managing to remain well and steady enough, with patience for also being disoriented, unproductive and truly scared from time to time. And for those of you that are front line workers – that’s many of you: THANK YOU.

On a lighter note…….. here are some words I really hope I never hear again when this is all over: ‘Covetiquette’ (no!!), ‘pivot’ (gahhhhh) ‘ROUTINIZE’. (Routinize?) …and…TELEHEALTH (three weeks of my life I will never get back).

In this editorial I am sharing a deeply resonant and thought provoking piece from Alain De Botton ‘Thoughts For a Storm’. Enjoy De Botton’s characteristic insights and thanks for your patience over the coming months as I take a break from regular posting to transition my business to comply with social distancing.

Read Issue 56 Here

Continuing with Pavestones’ end of year tradition, I am sharing a selection of this year’s ‘Thank you Notes to MI’. These thank you notes are written at the end of the MI 2 workshop by each attendee, who are invited to imagine that they bump into MI in the street, like a favourite old teacher: ‘What might you say?’ The notes are then randomly shared amongst the class. It’s a great way to wrap up a couple of days playing with MI and the process is always a joy for me to participate in as a trainer. I hope you enjoy this selection and be inspired to keep up your MI, whatever your stage of skill development!

Read Issue 55 Here

I recently received a link, from a MINT colleague, to a reading of the children’s book The Rabbit Listened by: Cori Doerrfeld (2018 Penguin Putnam Inc). This sweet, simple story highlights so many of the ways that listening punches way above its weight in its ability to truly assist when meeting with someone experiencing struggles. You can access a link to the story in this editorial and observe what resonates with you about the power of this vital skill. I’ll offer some thoughts as well for your reflection.

Read Issue 54 Here

In this Issue, I am very excited to be offering a video recording of a lecture by MI co-founder Prof Steve Rollnick recorded in Cape Town South Africa this March. This presentation was hosted by the South Africa HIV Addiction Technology Transfer Centre (ATTC) and explores the clinical applicability of Motivational Interviewing (MI) in various contexts ranging from harmful substance use, ARV adherence and mental health. In this presentation Steve tries to answer the perennial question for all of us involved in the work of assisting others to be their best version of themselves: ‘What does helpfulness really look like?’.

Prof Rollnick is Honorary Distinguished Professor in the Cochrane Institute of Primary Care and Public Health, School of Medicine, Cardiff University. I would like to express my gratitude to Steve for confirming permission to share this wonderful learning opportunity with you all.

To tune in to Steve’s wisdom click through to this issue below.

Download Here

This Autumn issue features content from guest contributor and dear colleague Molly Kellogg LCSW CEDRD. Molly is a Psychotherapist, Certified Eating Disorder RD and a MINT member based in Philadelphia USA. In this article, Molly explores the challenge of staying on topic with clients. Whilst Molly’s focus is on assisting nutrition therapists with this task, this challenge is raised as a universal issue across disciplines in my MI workshops and so I highly recommend a read, no matter your scope of practice. Staying on topic with clients can be appreciated from many different angles and this article provides an excellent exploration of the possibilities for skillful practice.

Download Issue 52

At the close of every MI 2 workshop attendees are asked to write a ‘thank you note’ to MI, as if they had just met MI in the street, like a favourite old teacher. I have collected over 120 notes again this year again and have featured in this issue, some of the most impactful letters of gratitude. This editorial was so well received in the end of year issue for 2017, I thought I’d make this a new Pavestone tradition. I hope you find the sentiments expressed inspiring and encouraging of your growing MI practice.

Download Issue 51